Two weeks after Auburn hired Hugh Freeze, Connor Lew committed to the Tigers, joining his new coach at the ground floor to rebuild a storied program. “There’s something about putting your head in the dirt and working, and doing things the right way. That’s what we’ve started to do at Auburn.”

Keldric Faulk made Auburn history last year when he became the program’s youngest representative at SEC Media Days as an 18-year-old sophomore. On track to be a three-year starter and still a teenager when the Tigers kick off the season at Baylor next month, Faulk returned to the Southeastern Conference showcase Tuesday at the College Football Hall of Fame.

Entering his third college football season, quarterback Jackson Arnold appreciates his opportunity at Auburn after two years at Oklahoma.

By the time commissioner Greg Sankey introduced Hugh Freeze Tuesday in the main room at the College Football Hall of Fame, Auburn’s head coach had already conducted a half-dozen radio interviews and rotated through another dozen stations at SEC Media Days. Freeze was just getting warmed up.